With information from Kevín García / URPI-LR
Days before the start of Holy Week—a holiday that, according to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) will move US$195 million in Peru—the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima (MML) closed 10 of the 36 churches that are part of the traditional circuit of the ‘Tour of the 7 churches’.
Mario Casaretto, Disaster Risk Manager of the MML, indicated for La República that the Lima commune will establish a detour plan for travelers arriving in the city for activities linked to religious tourism.
“According to a tour that was carried out in January and February, of the 36 churches in Cercado de Lima only 26 have qualified, and the other 10 are in a relationship that will not open, because they are under reconditioning, repair or have not security requirements have been met,” Casaretto said.
However, the official explained that, after the start of Holy Week in Lima, the MML will guarantee access to the monasteries that traditionally have more capacity during the tour of the 7 churches, through special routes and permanent guide staff.
Religious tourism during Holy Week: how many tourists come to Lima?
According to Mincetur figures, the City of Kings will attract 52.4% of the 1.4 million visitors who will arrive in our country between March 28 and 31, while the other 47.6% will correspond to other regions.
“Holy Week represents a key date for the tourism sector for local economic recovery, since it implies an important injection for the national tourism value chain,” highlighted Minister Juan Carlos Matthews for this newspaper.
On the domestic tourism side, the majority of tourists (97.2%) plan to take a trip outside their region, highlighting places such as Lima (14.6%), where the tour of the 7 churches takes place during Holy Week. They are followed by Ica (10.5%), Junín (9.9%), Piura (9.7%), Ayacucho (7.6%), Arequipa (7.3%), among others.
It should be noted that Lima is a bridge city for the rest of the people who arrive in Peru for Holy Week, that is, it is the main stopover point for our country to other regions where church tours are also carried out, such as Cusco, Cajamarca or Ayacucho. .
Tour of 7 churches during Holy Week: which ones will be closed?
The MML has closed 10 of the 36 temples that exist in the Cercado de Lima, but guarantees entry with guides and detour routes to the others for the Tour of the 7 churches. The churches that cannot be visited this Holy Week are:
- Church of the True Cross.
- Our Lady of the Miracle Church.
- San Agustín Church.
- San Jesús Reparador Church.
- Our Lady of Good Death Church.
- Santa Rosa Church.
- Immaculate Conception Church.
- Holy Christ Church.
- Holy Trinity Church.
- Santiago Apóstol Church.
Source: Larepublica
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